I’m interested in computer science, but I don’t think my credentials are good enough to get me into the top-tier schools (Stanford, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, etc). I’m a senior, and I’ve applied to Cal Poly, University of Washington, and four UCs. I can probably get into most of those, but they don’t offer great financial aid, so merit scholarships are the only things that will enable me to attend. I’m looking for schools that are within my range, and that I could get good financial aid at. I’m not able to pay very much per year. I live in Oregon, and OSU and PSU are my safety schools. Both have okay CS, and I could likely afford both with FAFSA, financial aid, and some scholarships from either school. Here are my stats:
4.0 unweighted GPA
2100 SAT (750 CR, 640 M, 710 W)
Good extracurriculars (among them: four years of high school soccer, two years as a volunteer barista, and three years on the newspaper)
I have will have taken six AP classes at the end of the year
AP Human Geo : 5
AP US History: 5
AP Lang and Comp: 4
AP Chem: 2
I’m currently taking AP Calc and Lit
I prefer smaller environments, around 3000-7000, but size is not a huge deciding factor, as long as it’s a good college for cs.